Officials work to make Interstate 20 a priority

Published 1:30 pm, Wednesday, September 14, 2011

As traffic counts and accidents increase along Interstate 20, two local officials are working to make road improvements on that highway a greater priority.

City Councilwoman Vicky Hailey and County Commissioner Luis Sanchez said while they understand state road funding is limited, there also are safety issues that need to be addressed. They met Wednesday with James Beauchamp, president of the Midland-Odessa Transportation Alliance, to discuss options and suggest various initiatives to improve I-20 to the Texas Department of Transportation.

"Right now safety is one of the biggest concerns we all have," Hailey said.

When looking at traffic totals, Beauchamp said there are more vehicles traveling along I-20 between Midland and Ector counties than traffic between Laredo and Bexar County on Interstate 35.

According to MOTRAN, traffic increased by 22 percent on the west side of Interstate 20 and Rankin Highway and by 17 percent on the east between 2004 and 2009. Loop 250 still remains the most heavily traveled road in the county, Beauchamp said, but added that truck traffic and other through traffic -- or cars not stopping in Midland and Odessa -- has increased along I-20. On any given day, between 8,500 and 9,500 trucks travel I-20 in Midland and Ector counties compared with the 3,000 to 4,000 trucks traveling between Laredo and Bexar County in a day.

"We're on a major arterial going east and west," he said. "One of the major hurdles we've had is making sure TxDOT sees it as a priority."

When infrastructure for I-20 was developed in the 1960s, Beauchamp said it wasn't designed primarily for local access because that's not what people wanted at the time.

Interstate access roads in Midland and Ector counties also are two-way roads when statewide TxDOT is pushing for such thoroughfares to carry one-way traffic. Beauchamp said it could cost more than $400 million to change that.

Rather than re-design the structure, Beauchamp suggested officials should try to get smaller projects on the radar of TxDOT and the Midland-Odessa Transportation Organization (MOTOR), which sets priorities for local projects that TxDOT then considers.

The group discussed the possibility of asking for median barriers to help prevent accidents at Rankin Highway and other interchanges. Moving the on- and off-ramps at I-20 and Rankin Highway also was discussed as a way to increase safety.

Gene Powell, public information officer for TxDOT's Odessa District, said the state's recent study shows traffic is only an issue at Rankin Highway during the morning and evening commutes. If those problems are addressed by moving the ramps, he said it could push the problems to other parts of the road rather than creating an overall safer situation.

Hailey said there are three apartment complexes planned along I-20, and that will add hundreds of drivers to nearby roads each day, which is why improvements need to be made there and other parts of the interstate.

"I know it's going to be an uphill battle," Hailey said. "I just don't want to take two steps forward and 15 steps back."

Sanchez also asked about possibilities for the space between the ramp at Farm-to-Market Road 715 and State Highway 158.

TxDOT already plans to install a signal on Highway 158 under the I-20 bridge, Powell said. The signal will be installed in March and should make a significant difference in safety there, he said.

Sanchez said he'd like to see something more, which could include a turning lane or other lower-cost improvement.

TxDOT has planned a reconstruction of I-20 at the Midkiff Road interchange between 2013 and 2018, but Sanchez and Hailey said more needs to be done.

Powell said residents can submit ideas to TxDOT, can attend State Transportation Improvement Program meetings to discuss initiatives or can work with MOTOR to have the items placed on the local list of priorities.

Hailey said officials plan to go before the MOTOR and TxDOT boards in hopes of adding I-20 improvements on the lists of things to do.